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Wednesday, 14 June 2017

My first year of uni has been filled with both highs and lows which has led to me losing myself. It has led me to be off track and not respect myself as much as I should. Being in a new city surrounded by new people isn't always as easy as it seems. But that is okay - as time goes on it becomes easier and you learn a new lease of independence. Although the tough times aren't always that easy, they become stepping stones to appreciating the positives.

One thing I have learnt throughout my life so far is that the negatives don't always have to be complete negatives, they always tend to have a hidden meaning somewhere and teach you something that you may not of known before. Therefore in the long run this makes you wiser and more stronger as a person.

You may not know this about me but I am the type of person who always enjoys to be on the move. Recently I think this may have made a turn for the worse. In order to deal with my not so healthy mental health and negative emotions, I decided to power through life by keeping myself busy in whatever way that could be (even if it meant I wasn't going to feel like myself after.) I didn't appreciate how much taking a break to do the things that you enjoy can benefit you in the long run.

Last weekend I went back home to visit my Dad and best friend which is normally something I look forward to all week but because of my not so good mental health this didn't seem as appealing as it normally is. But after getting home and talking to my Dad, he decided that I should go to get my nails done as this was always something I enjoyed in the past but haven't done in a while.

I walked in and had my nails done by the most lovely lady where we had a chat that inspired me, she said "in life you have to be selfish". Which she continued to explain that it is important to put those you care about first sometimes but if you do that too much you're going to affect you're own happiness and life because life overall is only short in the end. I must say I've never walked out of a salon feeling as good as I did then.

The past three days I have been in bed with the flu, not being able to get up. Although I have been in pain, it has been a positive in some respect. Relaxing and being mainly on my own for 3 days has shown me just how important it is to look after yourself and put yourself first sometimes. Being with my own thoughts has also meant that I have had my positive mindset back, it has given me time to breathe and take a somewhat well deserved break.

This may seem a bit more personal than my usual posts but it has taught me a few things so I wanted to share it in the hope it may make you consider yourself and your own self love and care. It's okay to put yourself first!

Sunday, 5 March 2017

Creating origami elephants and artwork for an exhibition at The Station called "Elephant in the Room"

Resilience, leadership and innovation - Our three key words for the weekend

Tips for public speaking and evaluation tree - where we placed things we wanted to achieve on the weekend

The three group's logos and score sheet for the weekend

Our countryside view

The first morning

Coming up with new campaign ideas

Mind mapping ideas

Dragon Den theme - Presenting campaign ideas

The last couple of months have been a very hectic few months for me - so much has been going on. One of the things that has happened was a residential weekend with The Mentality Project - an amazing group ran by Off The Record where young people campaign about mental health. You may have heard me talk about Off The Record before in posts such as "Supporting Off The Record" and "Where Have I Been?". Above you can see a few pictures taken from the weekend with captions that tell you a couple of things we got up to. The residential for me was probably the best weekend of my life (and that isn't an understatement) - it was full of campaign ideas, activities and expanding my knowledge. It left me feeling refreshed, motivated and empowered to make change.

Monday, 9 January 2017

With a new year, comes a new chance to reinvent yourself. By this I don't mean anything necessarily drastic, if you don't want to. It can be subtle changes to make yourself a better person or into the person you see your future self being.

Resolutions are a good way to reinvent yourself as it gives you personal goals to work towards. However if your not one for resolutions or you find that you can't stick to them that well, why not try to create a resolution for each month. At the beginning of a new month think of one thing you want to focus on achieving this year, whether that be one big thing or small steps to achieve a goal. This way it can help you to become more focused.

I always love a new year, new me. Although I don't fully agree with that statement as I feel you should always be yourself, I love the idea of altering your negatives into positives. You can always invent yourself and make yourself you but by reinventing yourself, you allow yourself to improve and achieve big things you may have never thought was possible.

Sunday, 1 January 2017

Welcome 2017! I am writing this post at exactly 3 hours into the fresh new year of 2017. With a new year becomes a fresh start and new beginnings. I was lucky enough to see the new year in with my best friend and her beautiful family and I couldn't ask for a better way to start the new year - all huddled around a bonfire.

Today is the first blank page to a 365 page book. So write a good one! Each new year is a chance to somewhat reinvent yourself. I also think a new year is a good time to reflect on your life and to see where you want to be by the end of the year. What better way to do that then resolutions? As for this year my main resolution is to be the best version of me. No one is perfect, everyone can do with a little improvement! I would like to focus on my studies more, become more motivated and to just in general appreciate myself by looking after myself better.

I wish you and your loved ones a very happy new year!! I hope 2017 brings both joy and happiness your way.

Wednesday, 28 December 2016

As we come up to the end of 2016, it's always good to reflect on yourself and the lessons you've learnt. It feels like it was just yesterday I was with my friends celebrating as we counted down to 2016. However I have learnt some valuable lessons this year, three pieces of advice I have hand picked for you.

Things will always work out

No matter how you feel, things will always work out eventually. They may not go exactly as you planned but they will definitely settle at some point, allowing you to either continue your chosen path or to rethink and create a new path, which may work out for the best in the end. Never undermine the power of fate, so take a breath and stress less.

Stand up for yourself more

There's always going to be a time in your life where people aren't going to be so nice to you and sometimes will somewhat petrify you, but by standing up for yourself and allowing people to hear about how you feel, can create more positives then negatives. I don't condemn violence, but a verbal point can create such a difference and allow you to have power over something that you originally thought you couldn't.

Work for what you believe in

There's a quote that I adore "She created a life she loved" and honestly this is so true. Do the things you love and fight for the things you believe in whether that be gay rights or against animal testing. The power one individual person can make, is unbelievable. You can achieve anything once you put your mind to it. So that degree you've spent all that money on or that dream job, work hard for it and you'll be amazed at the outcome.